


Eda's Rage

by Kjspirit



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: And the fact that Luz got her dream of studying multiple tracks so quickly, Eda gets to be angry about her school days, Eda-centric, Gen, I just had a lot of feelings about Eda's old school days, I just really love Eda, S1E13: The First Day, So here we are, lore spoilers from S1E18: Agony of a Witch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kjspirit/pseuds/Kjspirit
Summary: Luz comes home in a school uniform that shows off almost all of the tracks available at Hexside. Eda is ecstatic for her, but understandably angry at Principal Bump, considering she never got to wear that uniform in her school days.She has a little chat with him.
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Principal Bump (The Owl House)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 103





	Eda's Rage

**Author's Note:**

> Yeet, I wrote this in about two hours because I thought about Eda too much. She's just amazing. But yeah, it's after midnight, so apologies for any errors. 
> 
> And I get that it's a disney cartoon, but I was still surprised that Bump caved so quickly about letting Luz study multiple magic tracks. Especially after hearing about how hard Eda fought for it. So I kept thinking about why he changed his mind and how Eda felt about it all and this fell out. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

Eda raises an eyebrow as she takes in Luz’s outfit. “What’s with the rainbow, kid?” She asks, gesturing at basically all of Luz. 

Luz’s smile just grows larger as she spins around, showing off her school uniform. It’s absolutely adorable. “I convinced Principal Bump to let me do multiple tracks! I can take whatever classes I want, regardless of the coven track that they’re a part of. At the end of the day we sat down together, and he helped me figure out my schedule. There’s a ton of super cool classes that I’m taking, Eda!”

Eda grins and listens as Luz talks about the new classes she’s going to start taking. Then listens as Luz backtracks to explain how her first day had gone; how she had started in the potions track and then got thrown into the detention track for mixing magic. Eda hears about her old base of operations, happy to know that her legacy as Lord Calamity lives on. She hears Luz talk about the other kids that were in the detention track and how they had used the secret doors to learn different kinds of magic, and is filled with a sense of pride that these young witches that she doesn’t even know were refusing to be kept from learning how they wanted. 

She listens intently, because it’s Luz, but the entire time there’s a little alarm going off in the back of her mind. It’s been going off since the first sentence out of Luz’s mouth. _’I convinced Principal Bump to let me do multiple tracks!’_

Part of her wants to laugh until there’s tears in her eyes. Another part of her left over from her years spent trapped at that school wants to run outside and scream as loud as she can. Most of her just wants to cry. 

Eda’s so incredibly happy for Luz. She’ll get to study all of the magic being taught and figure out exactly what kind of witch she wants to be. It’s all Eda could ask for her. She knows that Luz will thrive at Hexside. 

Knowing this doesn’t make the hurt lessen any. She’d spent _years_ trying to get out of her magical track. She’d been hungry for knowledge about absolutely everything. But every time she tried Principal Bump would throw her in detention or give her another punishment. Every attempt at learning other forms of magic was rebuffed and thrown in her face. Her teachers had tried to train that curiosity out of her, until the only place she could genuinely enjoy learning about magic was in her secret room of shortcuts. Eda would just open door after door until she caught something interesting and would listen in, frantically scribbling down notes and doodles of what she imagined the magic might look like based on the teacher’s descriptions. Then she’d close the door before she could get caught. 

It’s hard not to be bitter that Eda’s years of struggles have been erased for Luz. Eda frowns and shakes her head. No, she will be bitter, but she’ll be bitter at the one who deserves it. Principal Bump. There’s only happiness for Luz. 

“That’s amazing, kid. If that’s how eventful your first day was I can only imagine how much you’ll be able to do in your time at Hexside. And you got thrown into the detention track on your first day, you make me so proud.” She grins as she ruffles Luz’s hair, undeterred when Luz swats at her hands with a laugh.

* * *

Eda wants to make a dramatic entrance, possibly restore one of her pranks of Hexside since some of the things Principal Bump made her undo to admit Luz were some of her best acts of magic to date. Nothing beats a teenager that’s bored and filled with rage with access to multiple kinds of magic. 

In the end she’s too angry to waste time thinking about it. As soon as Luz is distracted with some of her introductory assessment homework Eda lets her know that she’ll be out for a bit and grabs her staff and goes. 

She doesn’t think about anything during the flight. She just watches the scenery fly by her as Owlbert brings her to Hexside. 

When she lands, Owlbert locks back up and she holds her staff firmly in her hands. It never hurt to be careful when there could be official assholes lurking around. The Emperor Coven didn’t monitor the schools as closely as they used to, but the creature Luz had told her about had posed as one of their goons so it wasn’t entirely unreasonable to think they might be wandering about like the purposeless minions they were. 

She strides through the doors, unsure of what she’s going to say when she finds Principal Bump and uncaring of that fact. Eda’s never been great at planning or thinking through things. It was something that had applied to her magic as well. Lilith had always been angry at how much of Eda’s magical practice was spent just casting on instinct and feeling out different spells. Eda smirks at the memory of Lilith’s cute annoyed scrunchy face. 

A few familiar corridors lead her to Principal Bump’s office. The door is open, so she strolls in and stands in front of his desk. She’d hop up on the desk, ruffle his papers a bit, but she wants to be standing for this. “Heard my kid saved your ass today,” Eda says in lieu of greeting. 

Principal Bump barely looks up at her. “Yes, she did, though the mountain of paperwork surrounding the incident is mine to do.” He gestures at the papers around him. Eda wonders if he actually expects her to leave at this implied dismissal. No, she thinks with a smirk, he knows her too well for that. 

“Don’t you have minions for that?” She asks, wiggling her fingers at him. 

Principal Bump glances up then just so he can aim his most dubious expression at her, both eyebrows raised and everything. Then he just shakes his head with a quiet laugh as he returns to his paperwork. “They’re on vacation.”

“One day!” She can’t help the outburst. It’s been growing since she got on her staff. It’s been growing since Luz showed up in the school uniform she had begged to be able to wear when she was a kid. Or maybe it’s been growing since school, just waiting for the right time to come out. “One day was all it took for her to convince you. I asked for years! _Years!_

He doesn’t look up at her and that pisses her off. So, she slams her hands down on his desk, leaving her staff propped up against the chair. When her hands slam into the wood he looks up at her and sighs. She glares in response. 

“Is this going to be a discussion, Edalyn? Or a fight?”

If he’s trying to make her angrier, it’s definitely working. “I can definitely do both,” she growls. 

“I’m sorry.” He pushes his chair back and stands so that they’re face to face and he looks so genuinely sad that confusion snaps Eda out of her anger. 

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” He says again. He walks around the desk so that he’s standing in front of her. “You’re right. It can’t have been easy for you to learn that Luz achieved something that you wanted for so long and were never granted.”

Eda narrows her eyes at him, caught off-guard by his seemingly sincere apology. “I don’t-” _care about your apologies._ That’s what she wants to say, but she can’t force it out of her throat. It’s a lie. She cares more than she’s willing to admit that he apologized so quickly, so sincerely. For all of her adult life she’s been an outcast, ostracized by other witches, even her family. She’s had to fight to survive without her magic being bound and tied to a coven. Besides King and Luz there is no one willing to be on her side. Sure, her customers buy random knickknacks and keep quiet about her whereabouts, but they don’t hang around to talk to her either. She is either hated or ignored. 

She clears her throat. “I deserve an explanation.” The words are softer than she’d like, but her anger seems to have burned hot and fast and run out of fuel. 

He nods. “If it helps, it is because of you that I was willing to let Luz study multiple tracks. I heard all of your passionate arguments as to why you should be able to study different tracks, even if you thought they fell on deaf ears. Thanks to you I’ve been mulling over the idea for quite some time. So, when Luz stood up for her friends that also wanted to study multiple tracks, I was ready to hear it.”

Eda nods, waiting for him to say something that makes the coiling ball of hurt in her chest untangle and fade away. 

“I don’t know if you remember, Edalyn. Perhaps you were too busy coming up with new ways to vandalize the school,” He continues with a frown. 

Eda just smirks, raising her shoulders in a shrug. 

“But, the coven system was much newer when you were in school. It had been in place for a couple decades, yes, but that meant most older witches hadn’t been raised to follow Emperor Belos. He was still keeping a tight hold on witches and making sure that everyone was falling into line. One such way was to make sure that young and impressionable witches were taught how he chose. I’m sure you’re familiar with the fact that Belos believes only one track should be studied by witches.”

Eda ignores the last sarcastic sentence in favor of the rest of his argument. “What, and he’s not paying attention now? I have multiple arrests and prison breaks to prove that he is indeed still enforcing his bullshit laws.”

“Do you really think I would have been able to successfully hide a human in your graduating class?”

Eda opens her mouth, and then closes it. No, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to. In fact, she’d been surprised when he’d been so confident that he’d be able to keep Luz a secret now. 

“The Emperor Coven sends one inspector every other year, at most. They assume we’ve all either submitted to their rule or been captured and eliminated as a threat.” He smiles sharply at her. “You are, obviously, an exception.”

“So, what, you couldn’t let me study multiple tracks because of Emperor Belos?” Her words are skeptical, but he actually nods.

“I don’t know how old you think I am, but I was alive before the coven system was created. I remember what it was like before, if in pieces.”

Eda frowns. He had fought her so hard on everything during her school years. She’s willing to believe that he’s sympathetic, considering he hasn’t told the Emperor Coven about her or Luz, but she can’t quite believe that he’s been waiting to fight back against Belos this entire time. “Bullshit. You could’ve found a way for me to learn in secret if you really cared.”

“And when you suddenly stopped terrorizing the school for seemingly no reason? When you let slip to someone that you were learning magic illegally with my permission? Children aren’t the best at keeping secrets.”

Eda scowls. “Uh-uh, you’re dodging the question, Bump. These things aren’t all or nothing. You could’ve tried to find a way to meet me in the middle. Instead you punished me for every toe over the line. The only reason we’re talking is because you apologized, don’t forget your mistakes.”

Principal Bump opens his mouth, but then he closes it and looks at her consideringly. “Ah, you’re right. I got caught up in how I feel now. It’s easy to forget the person you were decades ago, when the person you are now is so clear in your mind. Apologies. 

“What I mean to say, is that I was sympathetic to your cause. I too feel the hunger for magic, in all of its forms. After all, true power is found in adaptability. However, it was too dangerous for me to show any sympathy for you. This, of course, does not excuse my behavior. But I was afraid. If I had gone against Belos’ orders back then, I would’ve been replaced at best and executed at worst. He was much swifter and fierce in his punishment back then. With how long you’ve roamed free, it seems he’s become quite lax with his rule these days.”

Eda just smirks and raises her arms to show off her muscles. “I’m the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles, baby. Don’t you forget it.” She won’t ever admit it, but she’s almost relieved for the lighter jab from him. It makes it easier for her to deal with all the rest of what he’s said. 

“I won’t waste my time arguing with you,” he states simply and Eda smiles as she takes it for the obvious win that it is. “Regardless, I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to give you the education you deserved. It’s something I can never repair, but it is something I can avoid with Luz and her friends, even if she had to push to remind me of how I used to wish to be able to help my students.”

Eda stands there, silent, for a long moment. This conversation is nothing like what she expected. The hurt is still curling within her, angry at the years she spent trapped in this place, but it’s quieter now. A bit smaller. His explanation is enough. “Thanks, for saying that. I’m glad Luz will get the education I dreamed of. I’m still pissed, though.”

He raises his hands in a ‘what can you do’ gesture. “Understandable.”

Eda snorts as she turns towards the door. “Alright, old man. Good talk.”

“I’m happy that my inability to teach you to your true potential did not stop you from becoming the most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles.” 

Eda whips around to gape at him but Principal Bump is just working on his paperwork at his desk with no indication that he said anything at all. She narrows her eyes, a wide grin on her face. “I heard that. You think I’m the most powerful witch.”

“Prove it,” he says in a monotone voice. 

Eda just laughs as she twirls her staff idly before walking out the door. 

This time she smiles as she flies. She may not have enjoyed Hexside, but she had learned a lot in its walls. She’d made friends and destroyed her sister in grudgby. Despite the frustration and anger, she’d had a blast making every day chaos as she experimented with her magic. It wasn’t all bad. And now she will get to watch Luz thrive there.

She can’t wait to see it.


End file.
